The present disclosure relates generally to well drilling operations and, more particularly, to a fracture sensing system and method.
Once a well is drilled, numerous completion and stimulation operations may be undertaken to complete the well and enhance production from the well. These operations may include cementing a casing into the well, perforating the casing, and fracturing the formation. Hydraulic fracturing is typically used to improve the recovery of hydrocarbons from a formation by applying a fluid pressure to the formation to induce fractures. The fractures may have particular properties, such as volume and position, that can be characterized as complex functions of the geophysical/geomechanical properties of the formation. The formation properties, however, are usually not accurately known, making it challenging to predict the locations of the fractures or precisely control where they are created. In certain cases, borehole seismic surveys may be used to estimate the position of the fracture network. Micro-surveys may also be used to determine fracture orientation using surface tiltmeters. Neither of these techniques, however, can distinguish between fractures that are still open or closed, nor can they provide the volume of the fracture.
While embodiments of this disclosure have been depicted and described and are defined by reference to exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, such references do not imply a limitation on the disclosure, and no such limitation is to be inferred. The subject matter disclosed is capable of considerable modification, alteration, and equivalents in form and function, as will occur to those skilled in the pertinent art and having the benefit of this disclosure. The depicted and described embodiments of this disclosure are examples only, and not exhaustive of the scope of the disclosure.